The Societa Valdostana Automobili (SVA), was an Italian

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

manufacturer, active in Pont-Saint-Martin from 1948 to 1951.

History

Founded by

Giovanni Savonuzzi Giovanni Savonuzzi (28 January 1911 – 18 February 1988) was an Italian automobile designer who was born and died in Ferrara. Savonuzzi received a degree in mechanical engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 1939 and worked for Fiat Aviazion ...

and

Virgilio Conrero Virgilio Conrero (1 January 1918 – 6 January 1990) was an Italian automotive engineer, entrepreneur and racing team manager. He is known for tuning and racing cars from marques such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Opel. History Conrero was born in ...

, both originally from

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

's aviation competitions department, SVA was founded in order to develop the cars made by

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand named after "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 by industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. One of the most memorable cars manufactured by ...

. Despite achieving numerous victories in minor races and gaining the confidence of important drivers such as

Giovanni Bracco Giovanni Bracco (6 June 1908 at Biella – 7 August 1968 at Biella) was an Italian racing car driver. He lived in Biella, home hometown of other racing aces such as Umberto Maglioli, Mario Porrino and Lamberto Grolla. Before and after World War ...

, SVA ran into severe difficulties after Cisitalia went into receivership. The company changed its focus, resulting in the creation of

open-wheel An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

single-seaters. A first experiment was done with a Formula 3 car with a

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcyclin ...

engine. Later a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

car was built, with a

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

-derived engine fueled by a mixture of petrol and alcohol. The SVA 1500, entrusted to driver

Rudi Fischer Rudolf "Rudi" Fischer (19 April 1912 – 30 December 1976) was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One at seven Grands Prix from to . Fischer debuted in Formula One at the in . He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total o ...

, took to the track in both the Grand Prix of San Remo and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1950, proving to be powerful and fast, but also very fragile. SVA closed at the end of 1951. {{Formula One constructors Car manufacturers of Italy Italian racecar constructors Formula One constructors